“While the Felipe Gregorio brand turned 30 years old in 2020, it wouldn’t be until the spring of 2021 that the company got to celebrate the way many companies do with their anniversaries, by releasing a new cigar. That cigar is Felipe Gregorio 30 Aniversario Don Felipe XLP, a limited edition that offers not just highly decorative packaging, but some very aged tobacco.
The cigar’s blend is most notable for its filler, a 22-year-old crop of Honduran habano 98 Copan Ruinas that dates back to 1998. It’s not only notable for its age, but because it was the last crop harvested before Hurricane Mitch, the deadliest hurricane in the history of Central America.
“It washed away topsoils from this region, making it so that the taste profile of this ‘terroir’ has forever disappeared,” said Philip Wynne, the owner of Felipe Gregorio, adding that the tobacco used in this cigar simply can never be reproduced.
The filler isn’t the only vintage tobacco used in the blend, as the binder is a 10-year-old pelo de oro leaf grown in Costa Rica. The wrapper is an Ecuadorian habano rosado wrapper that does not come with an age statement. The blend came about as Wynne sought to incorporate “essential elements from my journey in the cigar world” over the last three decades.”
– Halfwheel
Bought from –
Small Batch Cigars
Information:
Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano Rosado)
Binder: Costa Rica (Pelo de Oro)
Filler: Honduras (Habano 98 Copan Ruinas)
Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Undisclosed
Aging (if any): 4 years post release (2021)
Single (MSRP): $40
Box (MSRP): $1,000 (Jar of 25)
Availability: Limited to 300 jars
Size:
5 x 54
Band/Packaging:
Regal looking band with a coat of arms looking logo. The jar these come in is a beautiful porcelain jar
Wrapper:
Slight golden brown, veiny
Construction:
Well packed, no apparent issues
THE REVIEW
Cold draw:
Dry, toast, very unique note I get in a lot of Felipe Gregorio blends
First third:
Sweetness, sour, spice, white pepper, creamy, cedar, chocolate
Retro:
Creamy coffee, chocolate, wood, slight pepper
Second third:
Chocolate, dry wood, coffee
Burn:
Excellent
Smoke:
Large clouds of thick smoke
Final third:
White pepper, chocolate, coffee, dry wood, creaminess, orange chocolate
Retro:
Creamy cedar, white pepper, chocolate, coffee
Duration:
1 hour 27 minutes
Conclusion:
The 30th year Anniversary from Felipe Gregorio begins incredibly smooth with a blast of white pepper and slight sourness, which dissipates fairly quickly. Once the sourness goes, a creamy cedar and takes over and light notes of chocolate carry the first third. Great start. As the transition begins the chocolate ramps up and coffee comes in on the back end with that creaminess shining on the retro. This aged beauty smokes beautifully up and continues to the half way point, until a dry wood pops in – not terrible, but doesn’t improve in my opinion. As the final third starts up a white pepper re enters in the forefront along with the dry wood, before a delicious creamy orange chocolate takes over. Lovely way to finish off this Anniversary cigar. For the price tag this is a cigar most would look at and go the other way, and while it did have a small period of mediocrity, the creaminess and mix of chocolate notes really delivered. I’d certainly smoke many more of these, if the pockets want to spend.
